Recall This Book

136* Beth Blum on Self-Help, Dale Carnegie to Today (JP)

Listen Later

Beth Blum, Associate Professor of English at Harvard, is the author of The Self-Help Compulsion (Columbia University Press 2019). In 2020, she spoke with John about how self-help went from its Victorian roots (worship greatness!) to the ingratiating unctuous style prescribed by the other-directed Dale Carnegie (everyone loves the sound of their own name) before arriving at the “neo-stoical” self-help gurus of today, who preach male and female versions of “stop apologizing!” You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll either help yourself or learn how to stop caring.

Mentioned

  • Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936)
  • Rachel Hollis, Girl, Stop Apologizing (2019)
  • Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k (2016)
  • Richard Carlson, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…. (1997)
  • Alain de Botton, How Proust Can Change Your Life (2012)
  • New Thought (philosophy? religious movement?)
  • Samuel Smiles, Self-Help; with Illustrations of Character and Conduct (1859)
  • Orison Swett Marden, How to Succeed (1896)
  • David Riesman et al. The Lonely Crowd (1950)
  • Dale Carnegie, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (1945)
  • Helen Gurley Brown, Having It All (1982)
  • Micki McGee, Self-Help Inc. (2007; concept of”self-belabourment”)
  • Tiffany Dufu, Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less
  • Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing (2019)
  • Sarah Knight, The Life-Changing Magic Art of Not Giving a Fuck (2015)


    • Recallable books

    • Epictetus, Handbook (125 C.E.)
    • Sheil Heti, How Should a Person Be (2012)
    • Adam Smith, Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)
    • Joseph Conrad Nostromo (1904)


      • Read Here:

      38 Beth Blum on Self-Help from Carnegie to Today

      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store
      Recall This BookBy Elizabeth Ferry and John Plotz
      • 4.7
      • 4.7
      • 4.7
      • 4.7
      • 4.7

      4.7

      29 ratings

      More shows like Recall This Book

      View all
      This American Life by This American Life

      This American Life

      91,297 Listeners

      Fresh Air by NPR

      Fresh Air

      38,430 Listeners

      The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

      The New Yorker Radio Hour

      6,881 Listeners

      The Book Review by The New York Times

      The Book Review

      3,917 Listeners

      On the Media by WNYC Studios

      On the Media

      9,238 Listeners

      Political Gabfest by Slate Podcasts

      Political Gabfest

      8,474 Listeners

      The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

      The Gray Area with Sean Illing

      10,747 Listeners

      New Books in Critical Theory by Marshall Poe

      New Books in Critical Theory

      147 Listeners

      The Dig by Daniel Denvir

      The Dig

      1,590 Listeners

      The Daily by The New York Times

      The Daily

      113,121 Listeners

      The Al Franken Podcast by The Al Franken Podcast

      The Al Franken Podcast

      8,562 Listeners

      The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

      The Ezra Klein Show

      16,525 Listeners

      Ones and Tooze by Foreign Policy

      Ones and Tooze

      366 Listeners

      Past Present Future by David Runciman

      Past Present Future

      347 Listeners

      Critics at Large | The New Yorker by The New Yorker

      Critics at Large | The New Yorker

      663 Listeners